


The Mother's Curse

by Kariachi



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Children, Family, Gen, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:42:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26838415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kariachi/pseuds/Kariachi
Summary: "I hope your kids turn outjust like you"A glimpse into three Levin infancys.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	The Mother's Curse

Argit walked in his front door to the faint smell of smoke, some kiddie music he was certain he’d banned in this house, a familiar squeal, and the sudden impact of a baby against his legs.

“Earthbrat!” Immediately every foul addition to his mood the day had granted sloshed away as he snatched up the eight-month-old and headed towards the livingroom. “To what do I owe the honor of my favorite nephew?”

“Your favorite nephew,” Kevin groaned, immediately visible as a halfdead lump on the couch, “set the bedroom on fire.” Oh, well, that explained why the smoke smell got worse the closer he got. If anyone was going to wash the smell of smoke off their baby but not themselves, it was Kevin. Still-

“Arson? Already?” He held Devlin out at arms length, grinning as he laughed. “Such a talented little kitten!” Kevin groaned again.

“Please don’t encourage him,” he asked as Argit rounded the couch, cooing and chirping at the baby as he plopped down on Kevin’s legs. “Think we could stay here a few days, till everything’s put to rights?” He scoffed.

“Earthboy, when have you _ever_ not been welcome here?”

~~~~

~~~~

Devin didn’t normally answer calls to his badge when he was offworld- normally the important ones went to the ship or to whoever was with him at the time, at the moment Kyxan. But, well, that had been before the latest clutch, when his being offworld didn’t mean Eva had the baby till he got back.

He was going to answer any call that came in, especially from her.

“What’s up, is everything alright?” He tried to keep his tone light but, well. Eva had called while he was working. You didn’t just _do_ that.

“We,” she replied in that tone that meant she was freaking out and was going to take it out on any and every not-kin individual around her, “are in the _ER_.” Devin’s blood went cold and he about shot up out of his seat.

“Wha- Is-?!”

“Your child,” she continued, “not mine, _yours_ , decided to wait until I was folding laundry to bypass two baby gates and take a tumble down the _damn stairs_!” Kyxan chirped their concern, watching Devin force himself to return to his chair with slow, deep breaths and doubtlessly imagining getting a similar call about their Peter.

“What’s the damage,” Devin managed to ask.

“Broken bones,” came the reply. “They’re being set, everything is going to be _fine_ , it’s just…” With a shaky breath her tone changed to a softer, more openly worried one. “Those are some fucking _lungs_ on that kid.” Ears pressed against their mane, Kyxan leaned towards the badge.

“If you want I’ll see about cutting this patrol short, get Devin home?” Another shaky breath from the other end of the line.

“I’d greatly appreciate it.”

~~~~

~~~~

Nobody knew where Mendevin was and the entire pack was losing it. _Aggregor_ , apprentice storyteller and professional put-upon babysitter, was losing it.

He had lost a _whole chick_. Yes, the actual childtenders shared the blame, but this was Mendevin and therefor a good eighty-five percent his responsibility anyway.

The den system was in chaos. All the chicks had been ushered deeper into the creche where a close eye and constant headcounts could be applied to them while everybody adolescent and older scoured the tunnels, dens, cliff, and beach for any sign of the lost chick. He was in infant down, he should never have gotten so far as the _residential tunnels_! But, he was also a chick they’d known from the start had Levin blood, so really, only the gods could know for sure where he was by now.

The gods and one particularly panicked elder sibling.

Aggregor had seen a school of shayad during the midday sunning, vicious aquatic predators who could strip a chick to bone in a group, or swallow them whole if you got one of the larger species. Young though Mendevin was, he’d already made enough of an impression through his wandering soul for Aggregor to know, in his heart of hearts, that if they found any of him it would be along that stretch of beach. So, when it became clear they weren’t going to find him in any of the nooks and crannies of the dens, he had headed straight there.

Good news, the school he’d seen seemed to have moved on. Bad news, Mendevin was batting at the nose of a much larger, more dangerous _greater shayad_ like he could entice it to come and play.

If you asked anyone who’d been on that beach, from the Packhead down, they would describe the sound young Aggregor made as ‘strangled’ at best, and the speed at which he moved as ‘divinely granted’. Aggregor would describe the whole thing as a blank spot in his memory between seeing his youngest sibling so close to teeth the size of his little leg and finding himself pressed against the cliff face with a full armor of stone and an armful of happily chirping chick.

He _slept_ in the creche for the next three days.


End file.
